It is already known to permanently anchor a dental prosthesis in the jaw with the aid of titanium screws implanted in the jawbone. The screws are anchored in holes in the bone in au lee that the upper part of the screw is located leveled with or immediately below the top surface of the jawbone. The screw is then covered over with a flap of raucous membrane and is left unloaded for a rest period of 3 to 6 months so that the bone can grow securely to and form a unit with the implanted screw. After the rest period the screw is exposed and a spacer element, preferably also of titanium, is arranged on the screw, after which a dental prosthesis is anchored on the spacer element. The dental prosthesis must in this case be adapted accurately to the actual appearance of the jaw with the implanted titanium elements.
After the spacing operation has been carried out, the treated patient wants to have the dental prosthesis ready as soon as possible. At present it takes a relatively long time for an aesthetically optimal dental prosthesis to be produced. This is partly because the skilled work of dental technicians and dentists takes a certain time to carry out , but primarily because the raucous membrane/gum around the spacers in most cases recedes, and this means that the spacers may become visible. In most cases this is undesirable.
Many dentists therefore want to produce a temporary dental prosthesis/dental bridge which is relatively simple in its design and for which the aesthetically optimal solution is not sought. In terms of the work involved, such a dental prosthesis is simpler and faster to produce, which means that the patient is given it very soon after the spacing operation. When the raucous membrane has receded after a month or a few months, it is possible to begin work on the final dental bridge.
Hitherto, these temporary solutions have involved the use of gold cylinders which are intended to be cast into the finished dental bridge. However, these cylinders are relatively expensive, primarily on account of high material costs, since they are made of an alloy consisting of gold and platinum.
Temporary bridges can be divided into two types: those which are made entirely of acrylic resin and those which have a cast metal skeleton in order to increase their strength.
There are, in addition, on the market metal cylinders made from less expensive material which are intended for temporary use. These cylinders can be made of, for example, aluminium or stainless steel. However, these materials are not entirely satisfactory; aluminium on account of toxicity, and stainless steel on account of the tendency to corrosion together with titanium. In addition, these cylinders also require a mechanical working which, if it is to be carried out with precision, is relatively costly.